2017 NHL Draft Prospects

[Brodeur]

I wasn't sure where to put this - does anyone know when the draft lottery will be held?

http://www.tsn.ca/talent/addition-of-golden-knights-curbs-appeal-of-tanking-1.695461

The 2017 NHL Draft Lottery will take place on April 29.

It'll be a Saturday HNIC broadcast, but I don't think I've seen anything official with time. Last year, they had it at 8pm EST but that might have been a result of every Canadian team being involved. I wouldn't be surprised if the lottery got relegated to pre-game status again.

Also draft tickets go on sale Friday for those who are inclined to go.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Guy on the right can't believe what he just saw.

 

[Brodeur]

Guy on the right can't believe what he just saw.

There is a fun Price is Right "Come on Down" dynamic if you happen to be among the players. Unbeknownst to me, we were surrounded by Philip Danault's entourage. When he got picked by Chicago, everybody around us jumped out of their seat in excitement. Found myself standing and clapping along.

 

[Leaf Lander]

So is there any other dman available in the draft where the leafs should be drafting 17 to 25

 

[Brodeur]

For those inclinded to attend, tickets on sale Friday: https://www.nhl.com/blackhawks/tickets/2017-draft-faq

 

[JA]

Hischier does not have the injury problems of a Patrick...is a go to guy for his team..but nevertheless is also not the 200 ft player who also scores and kill pk...you think of him as a top line offensive star...

I'm not sure where this idea came from that Hischier isn't a responsible two-way player. He is the Halifax Mooseheads' best defensive player; he plays in every situation, including in defensive 5-on-3 situations, penalty kill, and in last-minute situations. He plays the final minute of every period; his coach, Andre Tourigny, says that he is the most defensively-conscious player that he has ever seen at that age.

https://www.nhl.com/news/nico-hischier-staying-humble-before-nhl-draft/c-288485676

2017 Draft: Nico Hischier staying humble
Halifax forward, potential No. 1 pick defers credit to teammates for successful first season in North America
by Guillaume Lepage @GLepageLNH / LNH.com Staff Writer
April 6th, 2017

...

"Nico is an incredible player," linemate Maxime Fortier said. "He does everything well. He is so strong offensively and defensively, with or without the puck. He's also very smart and you can see that on the ice."

That might be Hischier's greatest asset. He is a strong skater who plays on the power play and the penalty kill, and is just as likely to score a highlight reel goal as he is to steal the puck from an opponent.

"He plays a complete game, he's not one dimensional," Halifax general manager Cam Russell said. "He's got world-class skills, great hands, great vision, but he's also our best defensive player. When you have a player that is your most skilled and basically your best player on the team, and he's also your best defensive player, it provides great leadership for your younger players."

...

A large part of Hischier's success this season can be attributed to his attitude. He didn't leave his family and friends behind to be a passenger in Halifax.

"I didn't have any expectations," Hischier said. "I just wanted to come over and have fun and improve as a hockey player."

Named an alternate captain at the start of the season, Hischier had a positive influence on his younger teammates even though he was 17-years-old when he arrived in Halifax.

"Having a player like Nico helps a lot, but having a person like Nico helps us even more," coach Andre Tourigny said. "From the way he prepares to the way he works to the way he practices he couldn't be a better role model for our guys.

"It's happened often where I'll ask our younger players, 'Do you see what Nico is doing?' They have to follow his example."

Russell said he made a calculated risk counting on Hischier to contribute immediately, but that risk has paid off.

"He's one of the best people I've ever met," he said.

And if Hischier has trouble giving himself credit for his on-ice exploits, he is at least able to recognize one thing he did well.

"It was a hard decision for me to come to Canada but I really wanted to and I think it's the best way to become a better hockey player," Hischier said. "I'm 100 percent happy with my decision."

The words of his coach (note the quotation marks):

https://recrutes.ca/nico-hischier-his-coachs-perspective/

Nico Hischier – His Coach’s Perspective
February 26, 2017 By Grant McCagg

...

“He can beat you in so many ways. He can beat you with faceoffs. he can beat you with defensive play..he’s really, really proud of his defence, he can beat you with his work ethic, his intensity, his skill, he can beat you on the rush. He can beat you on the power play, he can beat you on the PK.

He’s a really complete player. I compare him a lot to Henrik Zetterberg when he was in his prime. When you were playing against him he was always efficient in every area of the game.

Nico is really competitive, and he has a great skillset. He can skate, he’s really shifty, he can pass, he has quick hands, good shot. He works so hard defensively. I’ve never seen a player his age so proud of his defence. He’s the whole package.

If you pick top five that means you have to build your team around that player, I would be so happy to build my team around him for the next 20 years …a person like Hischier…a player like Hischier. Nico is such a good man, good heart. He’s very polite, respectful, I’ve spoke to his parents and I can’t say enough about the values. A lot of reasons why he’d be a really really good pick.

When you are that good defensively at that age….I’ve never seen that before. I’ve coached really good players at U-18’s and World juniors, in the NHL The pride he has to play well defensively..I’ve never seen that. He studies so much defensively.

We’re doing a drill with defencemen under pressure on a breakout, a drill where defencemen have to break out under hard pressure..and Nico asked me if he could go as a defenceman. I asked why, and he said sometimes during the game when I’m back with the puck I’m under pressure..I want to make sure I can break out with the puck from my own one.’

I said ‘oh my god.’

He wants to be a pro, he wants to be good defensively. Every time he’s here in my office the first thing he asks me about is his defence. He is special, he’s an awesome player. He sees the games sometimes where nobody can.

I talked to a lot of scouts this weekend and they were saying he will go really early. He weighs 177. He’s lean right now but he will fill out. You look at Kyle Turris…Kyle will never fill out..he’s so skinny..that’s not the case with Nico. ..he will fill out, get bigger.

When we recruied him he answered all the good questions..what’s your workout program..he had all of that planned out.â€

 

[Hulk Hogan]

So is there any other dman available in the draft where the leafs should be drafting 17 to 25

Conor Timmins could, not sure if it would be a jump.

IIRC Valimaki will probably go in that range as well

 

[Zaddy]

Updated my own top31 rankings:

1. Nico Hischier
2. Cody Glass
3. Gabriel Vilardi
4. Nolan Patrick
5. Casey Mittelstadt
6. Elias Pettersson
7. Miro Heiskanen
8. Timothy Liljegren
9. Lias Andersson
10. Owen Tippett
11. Martin Necas
12. Eeli Tolvanen
13. Juuso Välimäki
14. Nick Suzuki
15. Cale Makar
16. Klim Kostin
17. Callan Foote
18. Robert Thomas
19. Erik Brännström
20. Kailer Yamamoto
21. Henri Jokiharju
22. Nicolas Hague
23. Jason Robertson
24. Michael Rasmussen
25. Jesper Boqvist
26. Ivan Lodnia
27. Maxime Comtois
28. Lucas Elvenes
29. Urho Vaakanainen
30. Kristian Vesalainen
31. Matthew Strome

Not a final list yet, but pretty close to it I think. Haven't seen Poehling so didn't include him. Rasmussen should maybe be higher, need to go back and watch more footage of him to get a better idea of his game.

 

[tony d]

Looks like a good list. Some qualms: Necas should be top 10, Tippett should be higher as well. Other than that it's pretty good.

 

[Sabes]

Good article here on Zack Hayes from the PA Raiders (WHL). He came out of nowhere to be a rock on D for the Raiders this season. Big too at 6'3 212. 202nd on central scouting rankings.
http://panow.com/article/666517/hayes-transforms-depth-player-shutdown-d

 

[Daximus]

My top 62 as of today... not a representation of where I think these guys will go in the draft but a pure ranking.

Rank|Name|Position|Height|Weight|Team/League
1|Nolan Patrick|RC/RW|6'3|194|Brandon, WHL
2|Nico Hischier|LC|6'1|176|Halifax, QMJHL
3|Cody Glass|RC|6'2|170|Portland, WHL
4|Casey Mittelstadt|LC/LW|6'1|201|Eden Prairie High, USHS
5|Tim Liljegren|RD|6'0|198|Rögle, SHL
6|Gabe Vilardi|RW/RC|6'2|185|Windsor, OHL
7|Kailer Yamamoto|RW/LW|5'9|159|Spokane, WHL
8|Jusso Välimäki|LD|6'2|201|Tri-City, WHL
9|Elias Pettersson|LC/LW|6'2|161|Timrå, Allsvenskan
10|Martin Necas|RC|6'0|167|Brno, Czech
11|Nick Suzuki|RC|5'11|183|Owen Sound, OHL
12|Antoine Morand|LC|5'10|170|Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL
13|Miro Heiskanen|LD|6'0|174|HIFK, Liiga
14|Cal Foote|RD|6'3|195|Kelowna, WHL
15|Owen Tippet|RW|6'1|181|Mississauga, OHL
16|Lias Andersson|LC/LW|5'11|198|HV71, SHL
17|Cale Makar|RD|5'11|179|Brooks, AJHL
18|Kole Lind|RW|6'1|176|Kelowna, WHL
19|Nick Henry|RW|6'0|190|Regina, WHL
20|Eeli Tolvanen|LW|5'10|174|Sioux City, USHL
21|Erik Brännström|LD|5'10|172|HV71, SHL
22|Conor Timmins|RD|6'1|181|Sault Ste. Marie, OHL
23|Artyum Minulin|RD|6'2|198|Swift Current, WHL
24|Nick Hague|LD|6'6|207|Mississauga, OHL
25|Mike Rasmussen|LC|6'6|203|Tri-City, WHL
26|Jake Leschyshyn|LC|5'11|181|Regina, WHL
27|Jonah Gadjovich|LW|6'2|201|Owen Sound, OHL
28|Matt Strome|LW|6'3|190|Hamilton, OHL
29|Stelio Mattheos|RC/RW|6'1|194|Brandon, WHL
30|Shane Bowers|LC|6'0|170|Waterloo, USHL
31|Jarret Anderson-Dolan|LC|5'11|185|Spokane, WHL
32|Jake Oettinger|LG|6'4|205|Boston U, NCAA
33|Nikita Popugayev|RW|6'6|203|Prince George, WHL
34|Ivan Lodnia|RW|5'10|179|Erie, OHL
35|Max Comtois|LW/LC|6'1|192|Victoriaville, QMJHL
36|Robert Thomas|RC|6'0|187|London, OHL
37|Mike DiPietro|LG|6'0|192|Windsor, OHL
38|Ryan Poehling|LC|6'3|185|St. Cloud, NCAA
39|Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen|LG|6'4|196|HPK, Jr. Liiga
40|Austen Keating|LC|6'0|170|Ottawa, OHL
41|Isaac Ratcliff|LW|6'5|203|Guelph, OHL
42|Kristian Vesalainen|LW/RW|6'3|203|HPK, Liiga
43|Henri Jokiharju|RD|6'0|160|Portland, WHL
44|Pierre Oliver-Joseph|LD|6'0|161|Charlottetown, QMJHL
45|Klim Kostin|LW|6'3|196|Moskva, KHL
46|Scott Reedy|RC/RW|6'1|203|US18, USDP
47|Lucas Elvenes|RW|6'0|174|Rögle, SuperElit
48|Josh Brook|RD|6'2|185|Moose Jaw, WHL
49|Mason Shaw|LC|5'9|181|Medicine Hat, WHL
50|Aleksi Heponiemi|LC|5'10|143|Swift Current, WHL
51|Morgan Frost|LC|6'0|170|Sault Ste. Marie, OHL
52|Filip Chytil|LW|6'0|179|Zlin, Czech
53|Adam Ruzicka|LC/LW|6'4|209|Sarnia, OHL
54|Sasha Chmelevsk|RC|6'0|187|Ottawa, OHL
55|Grant Mismash|LC|6'0|184|US18, USDP
56|Robin Salo|LD|6'0|185|Sport, Liiga
57|Jesper Boqvist|LC/LW|6'0|179|Timrå, Allsvenskan
58|Ostap Safin|LW|6'4"|198|Praha, Czech
59|Marcus Davidsson|LC/LW|6'0|192|Djurgårdens, SHL
60|Olle Eriksson-Ek|LG|6'2|187|Färjestad, SuperElit
61|Morgan Geekie|RC/RW|6'2|168|Tri-City, WHL
62|Maxim Fortier|RW/RC|5'10|176|Halifax, QMJHL

 

[Killerjas]

Looks like a good list. Some qualms: Necas should be top 10, Tippett should be higher as well. Other than that it's pretty good.

Explain please why Necas should go top 10, I don't get the hype...

 

[tony d]

Meh, for me this whole draft is a crap shoot post the top 2 so anyone can go top 10, that includes Necas.

As to Daximus' list, good effort but I'm surprised to see Glass at 3 and Tippett outside the top 10, explain please.

 

[Daximus]

Meh, for me this whole draft is a crap shoot post the top 2 so anyone can go top 10, that includes Necas.

As to Daximus' list, good effort but I'm surprised to see Glass at 3 and Tippett outside the top 10, explain please.

Glass is one of those kids that just skyrocketed up my rankings all year with every viewing. I've seen him live many times and he just blew me away at his progress this year. He's improved in pretty much every aspect of his game. His awareness and vision are incredible and he's improved his strength and skating so much just over this season. He's versatile and has that never quite motor, always looking to make things happen, always looking to make plays. On top of that he can PK well and is a pretty solid defender in his own zone. If he continues to improve like he has the sky is the limit for him.

I like Tippet and after Yamamoto he's the second highest winger on my list but I tend to place more value in centers. He has a great shot and speed and some decent hands to but I do feel his game is a little one-dimensional. Not that there is anything wrong with that because we need players like him. I just put less stock into guys like that unless they are on that absolute franchise tier of goalscorers.

 

[Finnished]

Someone's gonna get lucky with Vesalainen at 42.

 

[tony d]

Hey guys,

Here is a new website on the best NHL prospects. You should have a look. It is very user friendly!

www.hockeymb.com

Enjoy your visit!

Thanks for posting that, will check it out.

Also thinking about what Ottawa does, I wonder if they'd reach a little and draft the goalie, Jake Oettinger. Anderson's 36 and we really don't have a goalie of the future to replace him.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Thanks for posting that, will check it out.

Also thinking about what Ottawa does, I wonder if they'd reach a little and draft the goalie, Jake Oettinger. Anderson's 36 and we really don't have a goalie of the future to replace him.

I do wonder if Ottawa management feels as though they can wait until the 2nd round because of a) the depth of the goalies available & b) they do have Hogberg. If I were management I'd feel more at ease if Oettinger was taken just so then you know you have the most polished/advanced goalie prospect in the draft.

 

[SportsDaily]

The 2016 and 2015 NHL draft prospects threads were created at least 4 years in advance, so we have 3 years, 10 months till the 2017 draft so I think its ok. Let's see if we can get some names to watch out for. So far I've gathered a few names who seem to be at least getting some attention amongst the class of 1999 born players. I'm pretty sure most of these guys are 2017 NHL draft eligible.

F Sean Dhooghe
F Drake Lafontaine
F Patrick Khoderenko (Late '98, drafted by Everett in WHL draft)
D David Farrance
D Mathieu Charlebois
F Blake Jamieson
F Kyle Kawamura
F Michael Pastujov
F Jordy Bellerive
F Stelio Mattheos
D Nolan Kneen
D Jake Harrison
F James Malm
D Ayden Roche-Setoguchi
D Adam Thilander
D Callan Foote (Late '98, son of Adam Foote, drafted by Kelowna in WHL draft)

Nolan Patrick

Gabriel Vilardi Highlights

 

[SportsDaily]

Hockey Top 5 - NHL prospects 2017 draft

Hockey Top 5 - NHL prospects 2017 draft

 

[RoadWarrior]

Updated my own top31 rankings:

1. Nico Hischier
2. Cody Glass
3. Gabriel Vilardi
4. Nolan Patrick
5. Casey Mittelstadt
6. Elias Pettersson
7. Miro Heiskanen
8. Timothy Liljegren
9. Lias Andersson
10. Owen Tippett
11. Martin Necas
12. Eeli Tolvanen
13. Juuso Välimäki
14. Nick Suzuki
15. Cale Makar
16. Klim Kostin
17. Callan Foote
18. Robert Thomas
19. Erik Brännström
20. Kailer Yamamoto
21. Henri Jokiharju
22. Nicolas Hague
23. Jason Robertson
24. Michael Rasmussen
25. Jesper Boqvist
26. Ivan Lodnia
27. Maxime Comtois
28. Lucas Elvenes
29. Urho Vaakanainen
30. Kristian Vesalainen
31. Matthew Strome

Not a final list yet, but pretty close to it I think. Haven't seen Poehling so didn't include him. Rasmussen should maybe be higher, need to go back and watch more footage of him to get a better idea of his game.

Switch Rasmussen and Thomas. Jokiharju is too high. Switch him out with Conor Timmins.

 

[Zaddy]

Switch Rasmussen and Thomas. Jokiharju is too high. Switch him out with Conor Timmins.

My final list is probably gonna look a little different, but I like where I have Thomas. He's gonna get picked earlier than most people think I feel like. Regarding Jokiharju I just love his game. He's raw and will need to bulk up, but you can't teach his smarts and head for the game. Give him time and he could be an amazing and potentially elite offensive defenseman in the NHL. I haven't seen Timmins play so I didn't include him.

 

[DRW204]

Which recent draft would you guys say that this 2017 draft resembles the most?

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Any news about Eeli Tolvanen? is his stock up or down in the rankings?
as a 17 year old playing in the USHL he is having great season.

33g+27a=60 pts (includes 5 points in the play-offs) +/- +20 in 57 games so far.

 

[BigRangy]

Which recent draft would you guys say that this 2017 draft resembles the most?

This was my dumb idea from a week ago:

So I had a real stupid idea and now I can't stop comparing the top end of 2014 and 2017's draft classes

|2014|2017|Reason
1|Ekblad|Heiskanen|Two great, pro style defenders that aren't projected to be franchise guys
2|Reinhart|Patrick|WHL superstars who thrilled in d-1 but weren't spectacular in their actual draft year
3|Draisaitl|Hischier|Euro imports who tore up the CHL and rose up the board
4|Bennett|Glass|Tenacious smart centres with good IQ and impressive scoring numbers
5|Dal Colle|Vilardi|Big guys from the OHL who don't really impress when watched but everyone mocks them top 5
6|Virtanen|Tippett|Junior powerforwards with killer shots, IQ questions
7|Fleury|Makar|Western Canada d-men with dumb first names (actually not much of a match here haha)
8|Nylander|Pettersson|Swedes putting up historic paces for their draft years
9|Ehlers|Mittelstadt|Flashy guys touted as maybe being the most skilled in the draft, but with the usual flashy guy question marks

I believe that those 9 guys could legitimately come off of the board in that order come draft day, and even more connections can be made further in the draft, though they start to get very tenuous.

What do you guys think?

The connections still made some sense into the next 10 picks or so but I think most players were generally cut-rate versions of the 2014 edition. It feels like a 2014 draft but everyone is about 90% as good as they were then.

 

[tony d]

I wonder what direction New Jersey will go in at #1. They seem somewhat set at forward, I think they go for that defenseman, Heiskanen.